Running issues

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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Ok, so after I rebuilt the engine I rebuilt the carb after breaking the engine in. It was about 1000 miles ago when I rebuilt the carb. It was running good but running a little warm, so I narrowed it down to where it had to be the timing off, after new radiator, failsafe thermostat, and new hoses and the needle would still rise up hills. So I checked timing and it was advanced past 20 degrees, off a tooth. So I get it worked out and set it to 10 degrees, and now she doesn't try to run warm, but now I've got more problems. I'm thinking its carb related but could be timing, possibly?

Here's what it's doing, when completely cold, she starts up perfect without cranking it for too long, but idles low and sometimes dies, need to check fast idle, no problem. When coasting in gear it backfires and pops like crazy. When its warmed up, it takes forever to get it started sometimes, just cranks and cranks forever and then finally starts up, every now and again it starts up pretty good when warmed up though. It smells like fuel really bad after this and when I'm driving it smells like fuel pretty bad too. I has a new fuel pump and filter also. I'm thinking it the float adjusted wrong and allowing too much fuel in maybe? Or could it be the fuel cutoffs? I checked them when I rebuild the carb, and they both clicked, but could I have put them in the wrong place? I followed the fsm to rebuild it and was told that on different years they might be reversed. I don't know, just need some advice, tired of my fresh rebuild engine running rough due to carb/timing issues... Another little tid bit, when it was advanced past 20 degrees, it didn't have any of these problems, but I don't want to run it like that.
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irowiki
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Re: Runnung Issues.....

Post by irowiki »

Get a junkyard carb and swap it, see how it runs.

In all my time here, I've almost never seen anyone have a good result from rebuilding the factory carb :lol:
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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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BaileySims
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My tercel:: 1983 Tercel SR5 4WD
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Re: Running issues

Post by BaileySims »

Throw a weber on it.
WAGON MAFIA.
Blood, sweat and beers.
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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Sadface....haha, how much does a weber cost? I know there are threads everywhere covering the subject, I'm just lazy right now haha.
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irowiki
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Re: Running issues

Post by irowiki »

I think a new weber and everything you need is in the $200-300 range. Much cheaper to find a junkyard carb.

It's always like this:

"oh the car is running a little off let me try rebuilding the carb"

*few days later*

"I rebuilt the carb now the car runs like crap!"
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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marlinh
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Re: Running issues

Post by marlinh »

Did you remove and block the vacuum lines on the distributor when you checked the timing?
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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Yeah, I did, their actually capped off because my distributor advance doesn't work haha.

Thats the only problem though, parts for this car rarely, if ever, come up at the junkyard. :( Well my whole thinking was that it had 240,000 miles on it and its running rough, and that it was bound for a rebuild haha. What other cars have this carburetor?
xirdneh
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Re: Running issues

Post by xirdneh »

i have taken quite a few of those carbs apart
i have used rebuild kits on some and others i just cleaned them up and put them back together
after doing this it seems like one out of three do not work well
the ones that do not work well get taken apart and cleaned again and sometimes that works
there is a tercel carb video on youtube
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Petros
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Re: Running issues

Post by Petros »

sounds like too rich, only a few things that can cause that: bad AAP diaphragm, pull the vac line to it and see if it is full of fuel, if it had fuel in the the leaky diaphragm allows fuel up the vac line into the mainfold. quick fix is to cap off both ends. bad needle valve or float will also cause too rich (check float level in the glass window on the front of the carb).

the factory carb when running properly has good driveablity and economy, and they are fairly durable, it would be cheapest to find the problem and fix it. rather than replaceing the carb, or rebuilding it, without knowing what it actually wrong. You may "fix" the wrong part, and still have your problem.

ALWAYS diagnose the problem BEFORE you try and fix it! saves time and money.

go to the trouble shooting guild for fuel and emissions systems in the service manual and work your way down the list. It should not take very long to systematically go down the list to test each system for proper operation. Well worth the effort.

good luck
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Ok, thanks Petros, that was the sort of answer I was looking for! I'll check all of those things out and I'm about to go study the fsm also. I do remember when I first rebuilt the carb, the float level in the glass window seemed like it was too far up, but I thought it was in spec. Maybe I was wrong though, I should have free time tomorrow, so I'll be able to check everything out! Could it be possible that a small vacuum leakcould be the cause too? Thanks!
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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Ok, so I checked everything out earlier, AAP was fine, float level in the glass window was sitting perfectly even in the window. I used some carb cleaner to check for vacuum leaks, the only spot that was questionable was at the throttle shaft, I'm guessing its wore out from old age...I also pulled the carb off to check and see if the intake/exhaust bolts were loose, all of the ones I could reach were kind of loose, of course I couldn't reach the bottom ones, I assume they're a little loose also though.I replaced all of the gaskets between the carb and intake, I put a thicker one between the heat shield and intake. I also set fast idle and idle, I'm going to go back out in a little bit and see if its working now. I don't think the fast idle is working properly. I took her out for a drive and she seems to be running a little better, but still pops on deceleration, and when I go from half throttle to full throttle there's a momentary "skip" or hesitation is probably a better word, maybe thats normal, but it doesn't seem like it.
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4wdEconoBox
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Ok, so my choke isn't automatically closing, which in guessing is why fast idle isn't working....what specifically controls the choke to close? I've been looking in the fsm and can't make head from tails when it comes to the choke.
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irowiki
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Re: Running issues

Post by irowiki »

By closed you mean shut, yes?
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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4wdEconoBox
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Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:56 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Talladega, Alabama

Re: Running issues

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

Yes sir! Sorry for not being more specific haha.
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irowiki
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Re: Running issues

Post by irowiki »

Okay, push the throttle to the floor twice then grab a picture of your choke valve for us!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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